george-tumbrtumbr-blr - Tumblr blog

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This is my gallery mockup for submission

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This is my final image for my hand in. In this image, I incorporate the frame as part of the photo.

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This image is my first attempt at editing this image. I am having trouble with blending this image. i am going to manually stack and blend this image. This problem has arisen due to the moving frame due to in hanging on a string.

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I have been experimenting with different compositions with the broken down skull. This is the best of those. However, I do think that this looks better as part of a composition. With that in mind, I might table the idea of photographing the skull on its own and focus on it as part of a composition. The skull up until this image I have been a contingent edition between my still lives. I believe it serves its purpose best that way.

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This is my second three images. However, I think that image one is far too similar to image two. That being said, my aim with image one was to emulate the effect of the single stool image without the skull. Maybe this is okay.

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I quite like these images together as a three. But, I would need to do other mini-series to accompany this to display my meaning. Maybe three of three. The total project being nine images.

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I finally finished the editing on this giant photo. However, this experiment has kind of lost its meaning. The idea was to stitch together multiple phase one images to create a giant B0 size image at 300ppi. But, I no longer have access to the Phase One camera. As a result, I have had to downgrade to A2 at 240ppi.

I am worried that this compromise will significantly degrade the meaning of what I am trying to do.

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lonely stool

I came across this still life image that I made a while ago. This image was my early conception of using this stool as part of my composition. I both like this image and am slightly annoyed by it. I am annoyed because this composition with the table is something I miss messing around with. If I had the chance, I would have explored this more

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Flagging - White on white

I have been looking at packshot photography and applying what I learn to my still lives. In this particular example, I was looking at photographing white on white and how to bring out the edges of my subject. To practice this, I was using this Dove spray. The method consisted of using flags to add areas of shadow where required. I believe this has been quite successful in both shots. I have also continued to apply what I have learned about re-touching to my images.

The main difference between these shots, other than their subject matter, is the use of graduated light in the background. With that in mind, I used this graduation to ease the use of flags in the still life.

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Updated before and after.

This is my most recent attempt at re-touching portrait images. I made a point to make this one rather difficult for myself. For example, I spent considerable time removing the model's earrings and reshaping with dodge and burn.

I have found that the use of dodge and burn to be the least invasive way to reshape and correct imperfections.

The most challenging part of this re-touch was removing the model's bra strap. I had used at least four different methods before I was moderately happy with the result.

Overall the image itself I am not too happy with. But, portraiture is an area that I need to improve upon. Yet I am more than happy with my re-touching with this image.

An improvement, other than the portrait itself, would be that I need to improve how I re-touch the teeth of the model. Too white looks unnatural but, I cannot leave too much yellowing in the teeth. Luckily this models teeth are rather well kept. I will be in trouble if this problem arises at this time.

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Upon editing my most recent images, I have fallen into difficulty removing these shadows. I could attempt to remove this in post-production, but I risk making the image unnatural. In the university studio’s I would have added another fill light at this point. However, due to that not being an option, the limited space and the size of this object I have decided to keep the shadows and try to incorporate them into the composition of the shot.

I have also been looking at stacking with these most recent photos. Due to the current situation, I have had to switch to using a Canon 5D. The difference between the level of detail between the Cannon and the Phase One that I was using is extreme to say the least. I worked it out that the Phase One is at least four times the detail. This has thrown me off slightly with my editing. When I zoom as close as I do in the image above, I am used to still seeing extreme detail. Whereas now this is not the case. It has made me slightly wary of the focus of my images. Despite them being in focus at this scale, the picture starts to pixelate.

The slight annoyance to me hear is that I have lost the distinct quality that the Phase One gave to even sized images. I guess this is the law of diminishing returns.

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my computer made a mistake

Upon taking these shots, my computer seems to have flipped the images but dragged the photos out to fit the scale of the document. Unfortunately, this is only a mistake on the screen; they do not save like this. This has made me think about how a computer processes digital imagery. It could be a future project if I could understand and replicate what has happened here. I am rather fond of the effect produced.

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The tilt and lights

The top image is a simple example of the tilting process of have been playing with. The aim of this is to elongate the ground plane of the image, pulling it more predominantly into the composition of the picture. In my project, I have been using this to try and play with the space of my still lifes. However, this idea does need fleshing out more.

The second image is also an example of how many lights I was using in the university studios, something that is no longer possible. Never the less I have been having some success with reflecting light with mirrors and white card. In that sense, I have learned a lot more than I otherwise would have.

Below is the finished product shot, which is also displayed earlier in this blog. I have done a new re-touch on this image for my portfolio, though.

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I have been doing more product shots. In this image I have, I experimented with moving liquid. To get the specific shape I wanted, I ended up combining three shots of the splash. I then masked them together. I have run into a slight amount of trouble with this photograph. The lights I am using don't allow for a shutter speed above 160/s which means the liquid is slightly out of focus in areas. In this image, this is not disastrous, as it almost adds to the moving effect of the water. But, I need to be aware of this in the future. It may be an idea to used speed lights to do this when I have the funds to do so.

I also used liquid glucose and water to frost the glass for this shot. This is a method I found online.

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Frame

I have been experimenting more with depth and the space of my images. Despite the restrictions now placed upon my project I am fortunate that I still have access to portable studio lights. Access to these lights means that for the most part, I can carry on with my project even at increased difficulty. I also have to shoot at a lower resolution, 22mp full-frame rather than 100mp medium format. This is going to change my project, but the subject should be able to remain the same.

The space that I am exploring in this image is akin to what I have seen and spoken about regarding Erin O'keefe’s work. However, I am exploring this focused around the more realist still lives that I have previously focused on. This image is looking at the frame.

My thought process behind this image is to explore the picture by looking at what usually contains it. Rather than containing the image, the frame becomes a part of the image itself. I will talk more about this as the project continues.

I have run into a few problems, and this image is not complete. First of all, I am hanging the frame from a string. It is proving challenging to keep the frame in the exact same spot. This causes real problems in my stacking process. I started by trying to auto-align the image, which I eventually managed to do by editing out the moving frame on other raw images. However, this has also meant that I had to blend the image together manually. As shown above, these are the problems I have now run into. My next step from here is to flatten the picture and try to fix these problems on the combined image. After I have my completed image, I will then critique it regarding my project.

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I have decided to create solid casts of the skull I have been using. This should allow me to cut it up and start looking at pulling apart the shapes of the skull. This idea has stemmed from my research into synthetic cubism, where the makeup of an object is pulled apart in both time and physical space. I started by making the cast and from the skull.

If the Uni is potentially closing, I must get little bits like this done now so I can continue at home. I first cast the skull in plaster due to it being cheap, and I needed to test whether the cast works. Plaster has proved to be too weak for cutting. From here I will cast in Jezmonite and potentially Resin if I am able too.

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I like looking at quite random objects around me and working them into a still life. This is an old chair that resides within the photography studios at my University. I have used it before in my images but not in this context. The mess of objects I was photographing it worked well as part of the composition as I moved towards a more clinical style of shooting through my research on product photography. I wondered about incorporating similar battered objects into this environment. This does remind me of my study into Laura Letinsky, which the emulation I am still working on. Laura Letinsky displayed mess in a clinical still life. I found this concept fascinating, which led me to the emulation. But in my project, I want to bring the old battered objects and chaos of my previous still lives into this clinical environment, if only for an experiment.

This image has provoked other thoughts that will impact my project. I have been looking at the space in between the legs of the chair, generally the negative space of the image. This, combined with the lines of the chair legs, interests me greatly. However, I am unable at this point to parcel out precisely what I mean by this.

It seems, however, that things are moving fast with Covid-19, which means that I may be unable to look at this specific chair in future. If in fact what is happening elsewhere begins to happen here. I may need to start thinking about how I can complete this project outside of University.